TRIAL BEGINS FOR MAN AT CENTRE OF NOBEL SCANDAL

The man at the centre of a sex-abuse and financial crimes scandal that is tarnishing the academy that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature went on trial in Sweden Wednesday. Jean-Claude Arnault, pictured, a major cultural figure in the country, faces two counts of rape of a woman in 2011 before the Stockholm District Court. The French citizen is married to poet and member of the Swedish Academy Katarina Frostenson. He has denied the rapes and other sex abuse allegations. The proceedings are being held behind closed doors. Arnault, wearing a white scarf and a dark coat, made his way through dozens of reporters seeking comments at the courthouse. The scandal led to seven academy members either being forced to leave or quitting.